On a Warm Summer Day
by Lucyh95
Summary: There was nothing to be seen but blue skies and high, yellow grass. Levi sighed, wiping away the sweat from his forehead. The humid air made it a little difficult to breathe. It was really a hot summer day, wasn't it?


**On a Warm Summer Day**

* * *

It was hot. Levi opened his eyes, squinting against the bright mid-summer sun, high in the blue sky. He brought up a hand, wiping away the sweat on his forehead.

Levi let his eyes room. Nothing but blue sky. Nothing but the warmth of sunlight. Nothing but—

_It was like a dream._

A dream, eh?

"Levi."

He became aware of footsteps coming his way. The sound of dry grass reaching his ears.

Suddenly the sun was gone, a shadow fell over him.

_Hange_.

"Hey."

His voice sounded hoarse and slow to his own ears. Like he had just emerged from a deep sleep.

_After all..._

"You want some juice?"

Hange's voice sounded like it came from far away. Levi closed his eyes for a moment. The darkness was comforting, somehow.

"Levi?"

He opened his eyes again. Hange shifted, plunging him back into the scorching light of the sun. He squinted again.

"Yeah. I'm thirsty."

And he _was_, he realized suddenly. His throat was aching and dry. It was as if he hadn't anything to drink for a long time.

_A long time, eh?_

Levi shook his head and sat up, muscles protesting, movement slow. His sweat-soaked shirt clung to his skin. It was an uncomfortable feeling.

"Here."

Hange appeared again. In one hand a glass of juice. Levi didn't know what kind, but he didn't care; he was longing for something to drink.

Grateful, he took the glass from her. The cold felt comfortable against the hot skin of his palm.

Somewhere a bird let out a screech.

He sighed.

It was really a hot summer day, wasn't it?

**000**

"Levi."

"Mh?"

Hange paused.

Levi turned his head toward her. He only could make out her silhouette against the blazing sun.

It was hot. The humid air making it a little difficult to breathe.

It was always hot, these days, wasn't it?

He shifted, the barren grass prickling under his palms.

"What is it?"

Hange breathed in. "Are you happy?"

_Are you happy?_

"I don't know."

"Mh." Hange hummed softly.

"I really don't know. I don't know, because—"

"It's alright."

"Eh?"

"It's alright. Don't say anything more, okay? It's okay."

_"It was a stupid question, anyway."_

**000**

The next time, Levi awoke, the sun was already setting, painting the horizon a deep red color. Small, pink clouds covered the now golden sky.

_Gold_. A flutter of red, golden hair flashed through his mind, laughter ringing in his ears. An image, from long ago, right?

_Right?_

Levi looked on as the last rays of sunlight disappeared. The image fading away with the dying light. The crickets in the high, yellow grass surrounding him chirped loud and shrill. Somehow, he had a feeling it had been a long time since he last saw the sunset, somehow it felt like an eternity since he last heard the crickets chirp.

_It had been such a long time..._

"Levi?"

Again those footsteps. The crunch of dry grass. Hange was coming closer.

"Are you alright? It's a bit chilly now, isn't it?"

She was right, Levi realized. With the setting sun, the warmth had disappeared. Gooseflesh rose on his arms, and he shivered.

"Here."

Hange held out a black jacket, and Levi took it from her.

"Thank you."

And Hange smiled.

To Levi, it appeared lonely, somehow.

_Somehow..._

He looked up and stared at the now darkening sky. It was going to be a clear night. Soon, the stars would come out, brightening the neverending darkness that was the sky high above them.

"Are you hungry?" Hange came his way again. "You haven't eaten anything for a while."

And suddenly he realized; _he was hungry_. Hungry like he hadn't eaten for ages. Hungry like it had left a hole in his stomach. Such hunger, it left an ache.

_'It leaves an ache, it hurts. What's left is a hole you never will be able to fill again. And—'_

Levi shook his head.

He was hungry.

Hungry and nothing more.

_Right?_

And they ate, sitting in the dry, long grass, under the sparkling stars, the pale moon high in the sky shining down on them.

**000**

_'Make the choice you think you'll regret the least. Otherwise...'_

_'Otherwise...'_

_Otherwise what? What is it?_

_'Aching. It aches. It hurts. And there's no going back. The hole that has opened up, you can't fill it. It's too late. It's—'_

Levi shot up, chest heaving. His teeth were clattering. Not from the cold. No, he was burning up. Sweat was running down his temples, his shirt clinging to his throbbing back.

_It hurt._

Levi brought up a hand, dragging it through dark hair, strands falling over his forehead. He winced.

What was that dream? Or, rather, a nightmare? He was familiar with nightmares, wasn't he?

_Was he?_

Somehow, it seemed such a long time ago since he had one. When was the last time? _When—_

Maybe he should ask Hange. She would—

_'Hange is not here. Not anymore.'_

_'No one is.'_

_'Did you not remember?'_

Eh?

_'You know, maybe she had never been here in the first place.'_

_'Have you forgotten?'_

He shivered, mind spinning, slowly lifting his eyes upward to the now pitch-black sky. He shifted, dry grass prickling under his palms. A chill traveled through his body. He was cold. _Cold, cold, cold._ The sharp sensation ran through him. _Like a fire._

_'Cold— like the impending death.' (There is no escape.)_

Eh?

_What was it again?_

**000**

Levi shot up, nearly tumbling out of the chair he'd been sleeping in.

It was dark. No stars. No moon. _No—_

His heart was racing in his chest. Chest heaving with ragged breathing, mouth filling with sour saliva.

_It hurt. It ached._

_'Have you forgotten?'_

There was a hole in his chest. A void where his heart was supposed to be. That was what it felt like. _Over and over and over again._

_'You'll never be able to fill it again. It's too late. It's—'_

He lay back in the cushions, breathing out a long sigh. Trying to calm down. Levi brought up a hand, and draped a wrist over his eyes and stayed still for a moment. Listening to his beating heart, taking in the sound of his own breathing.

Listening to the silence that slowly enveloped him. The stillness, it was like like a woolen blanket, smothering him.

The quietness, it was heavy with absence, with what once was—with what once was, but not anymore. _Because now—_

And now he remembered. How could he forget? How could he not remember?

_He was, after all, Humanity's Strongest._

* * *

All the mistakes are mine.


End file.
